Grateful

For the past few months, Ryan's family has tried to start a tradition of doing FHE as a family one Sunday a month. This week was our week to teach the lesson. I say "we," but I really mean "Ryan" because he put it all together. I wasn't feeling so well, and I'm not at all good at teaching lessons, so he was the better of the two and took most of the job. Which is good, because he taught a really special lesson on being grateful. He talked about how we need to try and focus on the blessings in our lives, as hard as it sometimes is, rather than the negative. He got choked up (and subsequently brought everyone else to tears) when he talked about how he was thankful each and every second of every day for the blessing of starting an eternal family. We then each wrote down ten of the things we're thankful for. Jan and Ryan out-did everyone by going to 18. This lesson made me realize how many amazing blessings we have. Here's what I wrote down for my 10 greatest blessings:

1) Ryan: My eternal companion, my true love, and my best friend.
2) Baby Goodrich: The proof of mine and Ryan's true love.
3) My parents: Separating them from the category of "my family" because my mom and dad are two of my best friends and greatest supporters.
4) The rest of my family and friends: Ryan's family, my brothers, and my friends are all such great influences.
5) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: if it wasn't for my faith, I would be going down a very scary road. The church literally saved my life and gave me so much to live for.
6) Easton: Easton was the catalyst for the amazing growth that I've faced in life, the blessings I've come to know, and the amazing man I married. I will be forever grateful for the little boy that blessed two families at once.
7) Our cats: As dumb as it may be to some, our little girls keep me going when I'm down. They love me no matter what and put a smile on my face regardless of my mood.
8) Our jobs: We are beyond blessed to have two incomes and to be able to be putting money into savings each month.
9) The safety and the freedoms that we're blessed with on a daily basis. Sometimes it feels like every driver out there is trying to kill us, but we always manage to come home safely at night.
10) That day in and day out, I'm happy & healthy, well taken care of, and living this amazing life. There are too many little blessings that I see every day to pull out just ten.

So thank you, Ryan for reminding me to not always be "Negative Nanny," and for being THE biggest blessing that I always remember to be grateful for.



(Day 233)